With a series of drawings and paintings that are rarely shown due to the conditions of the bequest, this exhibition spotlights the work of art historians Adophe Moreau (the Younger) and Étienne Moreau-Mélaton who contributed to the perception of 19th-century art in the French national collections.

Étienne Moreau-Nélaton (1859-1927) was one of the most generous donors to the Louvre and the French museums. An exceptional donation of 100 paintings in 1906 was complemented by a bequest of autographs and drawings to the Louvre's Cabinet of Drawings.

Moreau-Nélaton was the son of a wealthy family of financiers. A keen art lover—and a painter, ceramist and lithographer himself—he was also a discerning and generous collector. This remarkable figure was a worthy heir to the passion of his father and grandfather before him.

Eugène Delacroix occupied a special place in Moreau-Nélaton's collection. The latter's father, Adolphe Moreau the Elder (1800-1859), was one of the first great collectors of Delacroix because, as his grandson later wrote, he recognized "the brilliant draftsman's outstanding qualities, too long overlooked except by a clear-sighted élite." Delacroix and Moreau the Elder continued to see each other until the financier's death. His son Adolphe Moreau the Younger (1827-1882), a senior member of the Council of State and father of Étienne, shared his admiration for the painter and was the first to attempt a catalogue of his works, Delacroix et son Oeuvre (1873). Moreau-Nélaton continued his father's work as art historian, and in 1916 published a work entitled Delacroix Raconté par Lui-même. Moreau-Nélaton's artistic tastes and choices were undoubtedly influenced by his familiarity with the work of Delacroix.

Organized by:

Dominique de Font-Réaulx, assisted by Catherine Adam-Sigas and Marie-Christine Mégevand for the educational and cultural program.